Although the BPP has been given this constituency on a silver platter on swapping basis with Botswana Congress Party’s (BCP) preferred constituency in Maun West, confusion is now gripping the area. Latest developments show that Maria Kusasa, who has been a BCP activist, has crossed the floor to the BPP with promises that she would be given a chance to try her luck in the constituency as a late entrant in the race. Until this week, the BPP vice president, Mbaakanyi Lenyatso, has been known to be contesting for the parliamentary seat. Now, there are reports that Kusasa, who is reportedly in the party president Motlatsi Molapise’s camp, is the preferred candidate, which could leave the party distracted from its main objective of winning the area.
The BPP is still grappling with attracting numbers in the constituency, as it’s arguably a weaker candidate as compared to the BCP, which was earlier preferred to contest the area. Both BPP and BCP are members of the coalition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), whose other partners are the Botswana National Front (BNF) and Botswana Movement for Democracy (BMD). The latter however was recently suspended from the umbrella.
